Laundry list symptoms and conditions

I'm seeing my OBGYN in a few days and will give him a laundry list of problems I've had with this bc. What a nightmare, and just now am I coming out of it. The worst anxiety and paranoia I've ever had, no sex drive, horrible neck aches and migraines, bladder control issues and depression are just some of the side effects. I hate taking anything at all, but was told this was an easy, and mild birth control. I'm never taking BC again after this experience. How this thing is still on the market, I dont know.

My experience was a seven day short-lived trip through hell on Topamax.

I began experiencing a constant headache for several months in February 2009 (no prior history of headaches). I am healthy 32 y/o male. After multiple MRI's and CT scans came back negative I had a very severe headache that sent me to the ER. The ER helped arrange for me to see a Neurologist, who after patient listening to my laundry list of symptoms concluded I was having migraines (even though I had no sensitivity to light, sound, or nausea). I had been doing a decent amount of research on headaches and didn’t agree that they were migraines but decided, he’s the neurologist, I should trust him. Let me also say at this point, I am not a person looking for a pill to cure my problems, but I was getting desperate as my headaches were ruining my life. I was prescribed Topamax.

I was suppose to start with three days at 25mg, then go to three days at 50mg, and finally up to 100mg per day. The first three days were uneventful when I hit 50mg and then 75mg…I was out of my mind. I read these messages and see people at 400mg with no problems…it makes me cringe to think of dosing that high. I stopped at 75mg…here were my side-effects. Tingling in my face, lips, hands, arms, and fingertips, chest pains (I do have GERD and it jacked up my GERD bad!!!), pain in the back of head, taste confusion (soda tasting flat), and pressure in my eyes and temples…But those are NOTHING compared to the complete feeling of anxiety that over took my body. I had a mild nervous breakdown at work, became paranoid to the point where I was afraid to do routine tasks. And the MUSCLE SPASMS…those are the worst part. I have muscle spasms all over my body, just random fluttering of muscles in my chest, arms, back, neck, head, and face! I became suicidal and had the worst night terrors ever, of things, that I wasn’t even afraid of.

I have been off Topamax cold turkey for four days now and the anxiety has significantly subsided. I have worked through a lot of the anxiety with my wife and I now believe that stress is the cause of my headaches, not migraines like I tried to tell the doctor…but the muscle spasms have not stopped (they have decreased) yet…but I can’t wait for the Topamax to leave my body.

I used to think these messages boards were part of the problem, but they are very helpful. Do your research before you put anything into your body…trust yourself and if you disagree with your doctor, get a second opinion. This has been a life changing event for me.

Health and Happiness to all

It has been almost two years since I took one tablet of 500 mg levaquin for a throat infection. I immediately felt lightheaded, then came the hot prickly skin, rapid heartbeat, insomnia and just a feeling of doom. I did not take another pill. Right after this my ankles started to hurt and podiatrist said had a torn posterier tibial tendon. To this day, I cannot walk without a limp, and can only wear athletic shoes with orthotics. If I stand for or walk for a small period of time I am in a lot of pain and have to sit. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis from the inflammatory markers in blood tests and rf factor, even though mri of my hands and wrists are normal. My right shoulder and arm hurt, my wrists and fingers hurt, my knees, neck. It is better, but I will never be the same as I was - no more running, walking my dog, going camping with my daughters girl scout troop - can't go hiking. I am 50 and I feel like I am 90. Would like to sue someone.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK PEOPLE, Lisinopril is NOT made from snake venom. Blood pressure meds were developed from INFORMATION that was obtained by recognizing and separating certain enzymes from the venom. The drugs were then formulated to SIMULATE the effect the venom has on human blood pressure. I too, am taking lisinopril along with a long laundry list of meds after a heart attack and 3 stents. No doubt anything you put in your body that God didn't make can cause harm, and evidence of serious side effects abound. However, harm can also come from false information and perpetuated lies, such as blood pressure meds containing snake venom. THEY DO NOT............ only the research comes from the pit viper. NO VENOM.......... get smart, read more, understand what you read and you will be healthy.

Well, I first typed in on November 14th with a laundry list of my Mirena problems. I went in on Nov. 15th and had it removed. Within 2 days my bloating was gone. Within 1 day the gas and bowl issues seemed to disappear. My emotions are better but I know that they are not normal yet. I din't have major bleeding the first 2 days (Fri & Sat) but it started and it was pretty heavy yesterday (Sunday) but seems to be tapering down a little today. I am still having nights sweats but I know that these will go away also in time. The one thing that seems contant among the doctors that insert the Mirena is that all of the side effects that we are experiencing could NOT possibly from the Mirena. Are you kidding me? I am starting to wonder if the docs aren't getting some sort of kick back from the company manufacturing the Mirena. My doctor tried to talk me out of removing it but I stuck to my guns and feel so blessed that I did. Now I can enjoy my baby girl before she is a toddler. Hang in there ladies and stay true to yourselves!!!

Okay, you might think I was the THE spokesperson for Mirena when I previously posted. What I was trying to convey was that we can have similar symptoms even without the IUD if our eating habits and lifestyle are not healthy and if we have our hands full with raising little ones. I didn't want to mislead anyone into thinking that I was symptom free myself. I had many, many good days of feeling great once the 6 month of unpredictable spotting/bleeding was over. However, I have a laundry list of things that were not right and recently had the Mirena removed. The things I'm reading on the site are pretty right on: Fatigue, no to little sex drive, weight gain (expect 7-10 pounds), pain at times during sex, did I mention FATIGUE?, bloated (looking 4-5 months prego at times). After 2 years, I had one whole week of cramping no period and was starting to get sharp pains. I had had enough and had it removed. I need to say that I have never felt better. I had a big period the moment it was removed. I think it's bogus that it thins the lining of the uterus. If that were true, I would not have had a period for a while. It was just the opposite. I had a real heavy one. But boy was it a relief. I don't know what to expect in the coming months with PMS and so forth. I am banking on eating right and exercise and limiting caffeine, sugar and any thing that would affect my emotions and weight.
I'll post again later and let everyone know how the weight loss is going. I did lose 3 pounds after a couple of days. Whew! I had gained 10 with it in the first year. Blessings to all! John 3:16

July 8,2008
In October 2007 I had surgery to remove a salivary gland. Due to severe infection, I was on 500mg of Levaquin for 20 days and an additional 10 days of Avelox. While taking the medication I suddenly had severe leg and knee pain. At times I could hardly walk. I would be awake a night with severe pain in my knees and legs. I also had the tendon in my left shoulder start "snapping" while sitting in a chair. My shoulder became so bad at one point that I could not lift my arm. I never related any of this to Levaquin until at a later date learning of this kind of damage. My shoulder finally got better after weeks of not using it. I still am experiencing pain in the muscles and tendons in my legs. I have just started seeing my doctor about it this past week. She has me taking Celebrex, which has helped somewhat. I keep hoping that tendons will heal eventually.

update to my 06/17 post:
took 4 Advil before I left the house and then downed a Percocet 15 min. from the office. Knew PAIN would be involved after having a biopsy a few yrs. ago of the ute, AWAKE in the doc. office and was not in the mood for another bout similar to it. I was ready for the removal. First thing off the charts was my blood pressure. 150/100. Explained the cause of a few of my symptoms. Then went through that long laundry list of odd phys. problems since insertion 11/07. She asked me what I wanted to do. Ah, remove it, now please. She did and it DID still hurt. Asked me if I wanted to see it.. ah, no thank you. Scheduled the pre-op for July 7th. Again have to have internal sonogram done of ute and ovaries to see how much she will 'leave me with' when its all said and done. Expect bag of multiple fibroids to the be very least of the removal procedure. Would be very happy to be able to keep at least one ovary. Not sure how cystic they are for that to be possible. Mirena can also cause cysts on the ovaries of which I've already dealt with for the past 25+ yrs. and knowing such I am baffled as to why she didn't warn me about this little side effect. Hoping such cysts haven't ruined my chances of keeping some form of continued hormone secretion naturally.
Bled a bit through-out yesterday. No bleeding at bed time or any today, so far, which is a first since May 22nd. Feeling better in all aspects but not sure if it is actually because the Mirena is out or if my mind is playing games due to the removal. ; ) Will give myself a few weeks now to see how my body changes before the big surgery before I post again. Good luck to all.

This medicine should be taken off the market immediately!! I am 30 yo and have been taking Yaz since September of 07. I have had such bad panic attacks, anxiety, nausea, gall bladder disease, and a laundry list of other odd effects that have taken over my body. I have been told by my doctor that I am depressed and was prescribed Xanax for those attacks that come out of nowhere and as of the other day he prescribed Celexa, which I took one dose of as directed and it put me over the edge. It was not until I read posts on this web site that I realize this Yaz pill is what has done this to me. I am reading all these comments from other women on this site and I feel like I am looking into a mirror. I had such a bad panic/anxiety attack this weekend I ended up in the ER and when I told the doctor I took Yaz he of course had never even heard of it which I guess is normal as it is not a med that is prescribed on an ER basis but regardless, I have stopped taking it and hopefully will be on my road to recovery. I hope someone else out there reads this and finds some peace with them self that you are in fact NOT crazy the medicine you are taking is.

What started out as a simple visit to dentist became a nightmare. My BP was high l73/90...so I went to a doc to get something for the BP. I knew it had been creeping up. I should have been more vigilent and done my own research first. He prescribed l00 milligrams of the generic brand--metropolol. I questioned the dose, but he said it was safe, and I needed something to bring my blood pressure down right away.

By the third day I felt like I had a hangover when I woke up. I started feeling not quite right. Tiredness, depression, and headache. My BP got higher. On the 5th day my heart started racing, with a pulse in the l30's. I spent 6 hours in the ER. My pulse was in the 60's, but BP 210/110. They injected me with 5 mg of the stuff, and also gave me clonopine. My EKG had been normal at the doc visit. In the ER it showed abnormal with sinus tachycardia and First Degree AV nodal block. It returned to normal, and by BP dropped to 150/80 with the clonopine. My glucose was also high at 300. I could feel an immediate relief with the clonopine. Heart enzymes normal. ER doc denied that the Topol caused the racing heart. He said that's not a side effect..perhaps there was an underlying cause. He did say the episode could have been triggered by low oxygen to the heart. I think they all stick together----he's not going to say the first doc was an idiot.

They wanted to transfer me to the "big" hospital for cardiac workup. I refused, since I had an appt.with a cardiologist in a couple days, and the doc that prescribed his awful med. I didn't think my insurance company should fork out $50,000 for an adverse effect from a drug.

I had been doing heavy exercise the morning of the racing heart...it was after I sat down I noticed the increase in pulse rate. NO ONE gave me any warnings..not the doc, or the pharmacist. Both said this was a safe drug.

I cut the dosage in l/2 for two days, until I saw the cardiologist. He said ok to stay on the clonopine for now, and a diuretic. I feel much better, and BP has dropped to the l40's over 80 something...pulse near 80. I am going to do a stress test. Based on a heart scan, 3 arteries have 0 plaque, and two mild.

I read that this drug is not recommended as first choice for BP. In the UK they're weaning people off of it because it causes diabetes, and there's other better drugs out there. I did not wait to "ask my doctor" to take me off of it. I told him I am not taking it....I don't know how much longer he will be my doc. I don't think he should have started at l00 milligrams to begin with...and should have started out slowly at the least.

Caveat emptor (buyer beware) when it comes to this med...and do your homework, and don't be afraid to fire your doctor!

I started taking Yasmin Feb 2005. By October I had 55% of my right lung full of blood clots and 75% of my left lung full also. Yasmin made me come way to close to death. I was on blood thinners for over a year and now I'm unable to ever take any hormones ever again, including ever having any children. I'm definitely in search of a class action lawsuit!!!!!!!!

I had the Mirena put in a week ago. I think I'm having a laundry list of side effects, but two are a major concern for me: mood swings and odor down below. I stopped spotting five days after insertion but theres an odor that just doesn't smell like me. My sex drive is null and void. My breast hurt or itch depending on the day. Is anybody having the same issues esp. the odor issue? Thanks
stj

I started taking Symbicort 4 weeks ago. I'm an active person, eat well and I'm in good shape. I caught a cold a week after taking symibort. It seems that as my cold got better, I didn't feel like I could breathe any easier. Since I starte taking it, I've been real fatigued. I wake up very tired and I'm sleepy all day. I stopped taking it yesterday. I fell better today. I went back on Advair until I can see the Doctor to try another medicane.

Lauren- May 2005 through August 3, 2007: The following is my daughter’s story which I put on paper so that she could bring it with her to the gynecologist in case I couldn’t be with her. I didn’t want her to forget anything. Someone suggested that I post it to a website:
The most recent issue seems to have started when she first went away to college in the fall of 2005. She came home one weekend with a stomach virus (vomiting, nausea), but it seemed to never completely go away. She was taken to the ER a few times, just to be treated for dehydration and sent home because there was 'nothing wrong with her'...Over the next few months she seemed to constantly feel sick, nauseous, fatigued, and get a lot of headaches. We took her to her primary care doctor, who did blood work and treated her for heartburn, acid reflux, etc.. During this time, she actually had appendicitis and had her appendix removed. After that she continued to feel sick. So we moved on to the gastroenterologist who ran many tests: cat scan endoscopies, more blood work, and were told that they couldn't find anything wrong. Then we started with a nutritionist to help her eat healthier and hopefully reduce the nausea which subsided occasionally but never let up. Nothing there helped. Then it was back to another gastroenterologist with no results. Over this time, anxiety was hitting her big time. She was finishing up finals in her first year of college and was constantly skipping classes because she was too nauseous to get out of bed for her 8:00 classes. Home for the summer - no relief. She decides she couldn't go back to her college for her 2nd year so she enrolled in community college - not exactly the plan, but at least she was on course with her classes and doing well. Still stressed and nauseous, we started with the neurologist who prescribed many medicines and ordered an MRI, which showed nothing (no problems, not no brain!). Back to the primary care doctor who finally diagnosed her with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which fit the current symptoms of nausea, severe diarrhea while vomiting and the finale: passing out. So, back to the state college for 2nd semester of sophomore year. But the medication for IBS was making her too sleepy to get through the day, so she discontinued it. The symptoms had subsided a bit but towards the end of the school year got worse again - just in time for finals, again. During that semester at school, she sought counseling at school which seemed to help her stress level, but she still had daily ‘melt-downs’, so the therapist sent her to a psychiatrist for meds. The doctor started her on the lowest dose (25mg) of Zoloft. As she started to feel a bit better, they increased the Zoloft over the next few months until she was at 100 mg. Home for the summer, the symptoms came and went, but about 2 weeks after she started the 100 mg, she confided in me that she was feeling depressed and actually had thought of 'not caring if she died'. We immediately took her to the psychiatrist upstate who had treated her at school and whom she had seen once since she left school. (She had also continued with the cognitive therapy at the college.) The doctor told her to start weaning off the Zoloft, but start Seraquel (another seratonin-based drug). She also said she was going on vacation and Lauren needed to be seen often as she switched medications, so she advised us to find another psychiatrist closer to home to monitor her progress. So the new doctor put her on Wellbutrin, continued to wean her off Zoloft, and continued her on the Seraquel. He also ordered blood work and a fasting glucose-tolerance test (all of which came back normal/negative). The symptoms got severely worse over the next 2 weeks: constant nausea, vomiting, dizziness, weakness, fainting. On Monday, she spoke with the psychiatrist and he told her to stop all meds. We continued to believe that the recent symptoms were caused by either the psychotic meds themselves, still in her system or the withdrawal of the meds. By Tuesday night, she had been vomiting for almost 24 hours and I had to take her to the ER, not because I thought they could figure out what was wrong, but to re-hydrate her because she was becoming dehydrated. After 7 hours, and more blood work, x-ray, EKG, she was released and proceeded to get nauseous on the way home at 4AM. BUT, a very nice nurse came in while Lauren had fallen asleep and asked me why my daughter was on so many meds. I basically told her the above story and she asked me when Lauren started on birth control pills. I told her that I took her to my gyn. in May of 2005, before she was going off to college and we told him about the terrible menstrual cycle (heavy bleeding and 1 day a month home with cramps all through high school) and he put her on Ortho-tricycline low. At her 3 month check, she told him she was losing large amounts of hair. He changed her contraceptive to 'Ov-con 35'. In November, she complained of nausea and he switched her to Yasmin. She has been on it ever since. The nurse asked me if I was aware that every symptom that Lauren has had since October of 2005 could be a side effect of oral contraceptives!! She told me about a book to buy, written by Dr. John Lee about hormones and imbalances. She told me not to stop the b.c. pills abruptly, because since they are synthetic hormones, and with what her body was going through, it might put her into an hormonal chaos, similar to a full-blown menopause! So we are now reading the book, waiting to do saliva- testing and trying to see a gyn. to help us. Her own gyn. has a personal family emergency and is on a temporary leave of absence (as we found out when his office canceled her yearly check-up twice in the last 10 days). We are trying to get her in with one of the other doctors. She cannot start a 3rd year of college still feeling ill!
Added to the above is the fact that my husband’s sister called to see what was going on with Lauren after she got a phone call from her mother. It turns out that my niece, Heather (age 23), has been making the rounds with the doctors and having testing done (MRI, blood work, etc.,) because she has been nauseous and passing out. Guess what medicine she is taking…..Yasmin!

This is the list of most of the medicines (besides the 3 oral contraceptives) that she has been on during the last 27 months because of the side effects of Yasmin, and no doctor suggests she stop her oral contraceptive pills for a few months!
Prochloroperaz (5mg), Topamax (25mg), Prevacid (30mg), Zofran (4mg), Omeprazole (20mg), Amitriptyline (25mg), Amitriptyline (50mg), Inderal (60mg), Propranolol (10mg), Amitriptyline (10mg), Sertraline (Zoloft) (25mg), Sertraline (Zoloft) (50mg), Metoclopramide (5mg), Sertraline (Zoloft) (100mg), Seroquel (25mg), Wellbutrin (150mg), Dicyclomine (10mg), Compazine (severe reaction: Extrapyramidal), and other anti-nausea meds in 4 trips to the ER (one due to the reaction to Compazine!)

Ten months ago I was persuaded by my MD to start taking Lipitor . In less than two months, my numbers went from 349 to 189. However, this initial positive outcome never prepared me for a host of adverse conditions!

In the past three months, I have experienced some Red Flag physical problems but the Light Bulb Moment came with a weight increase of 15 lbs, concentrated on my belly. I have not increased my food intake and my diet continues to include fruit, vegetables, fish, chicken, milk/cheese, and some sweets. When I started taking Lipitor, I weighed 122 lbs; now I'm at 134!!!!
My level of physical activity has remained the same as has my food intake.

It was this weight increase that prompted me to search the internet for a possible connection between Lipitor and weight gain. Three days ago, my fears were confirmed as I read similar postings.

But my problems go beyond the weight gain. Here's is my "laundry list" of symptoms and I believe that Lipitor is the ugly culprit:

1. Sciatic pain
2. Left leg is numb; tingling, burning, shooting pains
3. Foot pain/numbness
4. Periodic shortness of breath/palpitations
5. Incident of high blood pressure
6. Weight Gain: Belly! Bloated appearance
7. Constipation
8. Fatigue
9. Periods of depression
10.Anxiety

I have stopped taking this dangerous drug. I am due for lab work and MD visit.

Hope to hear from you.
Jessica

Adding side effects to the laundry list I developed from Sulfameth. I also have a very dry mouth, adrenaline rushes, racing heartbeat, and shortness of breath.

twogirlsmom & Others-

Thanks for your reply. I wish I could take an antidepressant but the last time I did I spent an entire day with severe suicidal thoughts. It was horrific. It also made me feel soooo sick. It was Zoloft. The doc then wanted me to wait a week and try Wellbutrin or Sarafem but I declined both. After my Zoloft experience I am terrified of antidepressants. I have taken Xanax before with moderate success so I may ask for that again.

Yesterday morning I was in such panic mode I didn't think I was going to make it through the day. By late evening I came back around a little and felt better; however here we go again this morning. My heart is beating out of my chest and I can feel the fear rising.

I called my RE's office yesterday and spoke to the nurse and told her of my panic problems and bcps. She asked which ones I had taken in the past so I gave her my laundry list of meds. She then offered up some mini pills or the patch etc to which I kindly declined and burst into tears. I feel like nobody understands why I am feeling this way and that I just need to never take bcps again. The nurse set up and appt with my RE to discuss other options such as an IUD, tubal ligation (I am not open to that option though our family is complete).

Another thing that I have noticed in reading these latest posts is there seems to be some relation with symptoms turning bad around the 3 month mark; like the anxiety appears around that time. I know it's not like that for everyone but i can see a bit of a pattern forming. I am on month 3 myself and ready to burn this pack. I am done with Yasmin & the rest of them.

Denise

I have only been taking Yasmin for a month and a half, but after reading this laundry list of side effects, I think it's safe to say that it may be the cause of some of the problems I've been having. I have never, ever had a yeast infection and I believe I had my first one shortly after my first menstrual cycle while on Yasmin (a plus -- my usually lengthy period only lasted a week and there were only 2 heavy days). I find it so difficult to get up in the morning, and when I get home from work (even the many days I only work part-time), I'm exhausted. I'm so irritable even *I* don't want to be around me most of the time, and I knew there was a problem when I found myself just wanting to get away from my precious and well-behaved 9-month-old daughter. I have a call into my doctor's office and hopefully this will be the last month I'm on this pill. It had such great word-of-mouth, I was really surprised to read all of these negatives -- however, the only change in my lifestyle over the past month and a half has been taking Yasmin, and that's when all these negatives began occurring for me.